"It's a play that appears as much circus as cathartic story-telling, dropping the audience in the midst of a physically and emotionally engaging experience like no other.
"It's a show that reveals its story over time," explains Crowder. "The circular nature lent itself to playing with time so the story jumps in time. As it unfolds, clues are left that perhaps only become fully understood at the end of the play.
"Primarily, it's the story of a young man who chooses to abandon his family to go off and make his mark on the world. We see this same character played by an older actor as he finally decides to go back and see them now he has succeeded. On his journey home, he reflects on the path he's taken, with the aid of memories and the familiar characters he meets.
"Thrown into the mix we also have this character no longer mid-life, but played by an actor portraying his later years. The story is constantly surprising, moving and highly entertaining, with a seal, human cannon balls and plenty of humour."
Olivia Tennet plays the young sister in the family, also named Olivia, an animal-lover whose best friend is the family's pet seal. She is the youngest in the family and spends a lot of time in the play trying to make sense of the big life events taking place around her.
All of the family possess clown-like sensibilities, which it turns out wasn't the least of her worries working on the play.
"Rehearsing and devising the show was more like learning a long, choreographed piece than a play, and it can be quite a discombobulating experience," she laughs.
"Our entrances and exits are all located around the circular stage rather than just being on two sides. Logistically it's a tricky proposition, but it's also a very exciting challenge. 360 is an absolute dream to perform in front of an audience."
As for the audience's seating arrangements, this problem was happily solved with the industrial magic of swivel chairs, easily allowing people to turn in whichever direction they desire, though it isn't always easy deciding where that might be at certain times.
"For this show, functionality is key," says Crowder. "We bolt all the chairs to the ground. At one point we explored old metal typing chairs but chose something that was uniform and also didn't scream office."
Live At Six actively encouraged people to keep mobile phones on during the show, but 360 clearly wants people to constantly shift around in their seat, something that would trouble most actors. Not Tennet and her co-stars.
"It's really enjoyable to watch the audience find their own way around the action," she says.
"Everyone gets a different experience depending on where they're seated. I love interacting with the audience in such close proximity."
Let's simply hope the chairs are well oiled before the curtain goes up. If there is a curtain, that is.
360, January 13-25, Aotea Centre, Auckland.
